‘Miracle’ Alzheimers drugs triggering lost brain volume says expert
LONDON: ‘Miracle’ Alzheimer’s drugs should be treated with caution, experts warn, amid concern they can shrink brains.
Last year, the medical world rejoiced as the first drug to clearly slow the progression of Alzheimer’s was approved in the US.
Manufacturers said trial results showed lecanemab – also known as Leqembi – slowed cognitive and functional decline in early-stage patients by 27 per cent over 18 months.
A UK approval decision is expected as soon as next week. But experts say people who take the drugs actually lose volume in their brains, putting the UK approval of these treatments in jeopardy.
Professor Rob Howard, of University College London, said he believed the benefits of the ‘miracle’ drugs were ‘literally too small to be noticeable’.
‘Patients who’ve had these drugs, their brains seem to shrink faster than people who get placebo,’ he told the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Denver. ‘Obviously, losing brain volume is something we’ve always regarded as being a very bad thing.’
